Canada is on the cusp of a bioeconomic revolution. With its foundation of expansive forests and agricultural land, Canada is poised to unlock the value of its bio-based resources potential.

The Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) has a big mandate.

With increasing urbanization comes an increased tax on our environment and its ability to sustain us.

As everyone knows, it’s difficult to manage a process if you can’t measure it. This is particularly true of energy management in a pulp and paper mill, especially when dealing with steam flow meters, which are notorious for sometimes giving inaccurate measurements.

The colour green is associated with many things, including jealousy and inexperience. But for most of us the first association is probably “natural”. This is the idea behind “green chemistry”, which is a concept that has first developed about thirty years ago.

The world has changed in the last few weeks due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Those of us who live in a city are dealing with the lockdown by working from home and only emerging to exercise and buy groceries. But what’s it like for large companies operating production facilities in the forest products industry?

Seven European producers of kraftliner and testliner are investing heavily to supply the corrugating industry.

The world population is growing and there is an increasing need to feed more of us, already now critical in many areas. Could this be a business opportunity for the pulp industry?

Since 1983 Valmet has had an unbroken chain of tissue seminars but Covid-19 caused the planned tissue seminars for 2020 to stop; Tissue Talks LIVE and Tissue Talks DIVE. Instead these seminars were arranged as webinars, which also proved to work very well.

With over $2.9B U.S. in revenue from exports of commercial pulp, tissue paper and other forest products in more than 70 countries, Resolute Forest Products (RFP) couldn’t really be faulted for deciding to sit pretty and enjoy the ride of being a Canadian leader in its field.

Kruger uses the best technology to produce high-end tissue

If you work in the pulp and paper industry, chances are you've come across the term circular economy, which has been creating a lot of hype as of late.

In my last blog, I emphasized that Green Chemistry Principles provide useful, actionable ways to drive innovation strategies and accelerate transformation in the pulp and paper (P&P) industry. Here, I will focus on a facilitating technology in the development and implementation of biomolecules, biomaterials, and bioproducts from biorefinery: molecular modeling (MM).

Increased level of pollution worldwide (soil, air and water) calls for urgent action and scalable solutions.

The Kraft pulping process, patented in 1879 and implemented in 1890, has shown resilience for more than 100 years, as it provides higher pulp strength and allows for about 98% of chemicals recovery cycle and energy efficiency.

It is no secret that kraft fibreline equipment in North American kraft mills is getting old. Mills are upgrading their machines and looking for ways to improve their operations to become more efficient and cost-effective.

The extraction of residual fibre in British Columbia leading to the reduction of open-air burning of harvest residues is the focus of a new webinar series that will be offered in February and March 2021.

In the first half of 2020, FPInnovations organized six webinars that centred on approaches available to designers when rationalizing for climate change at small, remote crossings (recordings).

What is it about pizza boxes that they always seem to get singled out for special mention? Is it the guilt we feel at scoffing down all that cheese and pepperoni?

Green visions, aspirational goals, and political grandstanding are all very well in their place. But at some point, we have to be realistic.

Recycled content is the key component in the creation of a circular economy. It keeps raw materials flowing within the economy longer, reduces the pressure to extract more virgin materials from the earth, and delays their eventual disposal as waste.

In the 3Q/20, the Global Hardwood Fiber Price Index (HFPI) was up by 1.6% to $81.17/odmt, following a 16-year low in the previous quarter.

Strong lumber sales and a weakening US dollar moved sawlog prices upward in many markets worldwide in the 3Q/20. The most significant price increases occurred in Western US, Northern and Eastern Europe, and Oceania.

Australia’s role as a hardwood chip supplier to China and Japan has dramatically diminished in 2020, with shipments having fallen by 34% from last year

To say that COVID-19 has defined much of what we experienced in 2020 would be the understatement of the century.

Earlier today Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources, the Honourable Seamus O’Regan, unveiled the federal government’s plan to launch its 2 billion tree initiative in 2021. Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) applauds this thoughtful and inclusive approach which will help Canada move to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

November 30, 2020 - Earlier today, Canada’s Deputy Prime Minster and Minister of Finance, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, presented the federal government’s fall economic statement in the House of Commons.

Planar microwave moisture measurement, since its inception in 2000, continues to develop sophisticated instrumentation tools which greatly expand the utility of the technology into an ever-expanding range of papermaking applications. 

Introduction

As early as 2016, studies were introduced that showed numerous process control benefits that can be realized on paper machines equipped with the EasyScan traversing permeability, water content, and temperature measurement capabilities.

Introduction

In the day-to-day operation of paper machines, little thought is typically applied to carrier rope runs until something changes that affects downtime related to sheet transfers and/or rope replacement.

COVID-19 is having a huge impact on the world economy, the forest products industry is no exception, as many pulp, paper, and wood producers are slowing down their activities.

FPInnovations held the world's first platooning tests on forestry roads in Rivière-aux-Rats, near La Tuque, QC, last week, paving the way towards the use of autonomous vehicles.

The installation of a new turbine generator isn't expected to just generate new revenue for Domtar's Windsor, QC facility, it will also produce18 MW of electricity, optimize the mill's steam, all the while ensuring operational flexibility.

Held at FPInnovations headquarters in Pointe-Claire, Quebec, the 2018 edition of the Pulp, Paper and Bioproducts Course provided hands-on training to 45 participants coming from Canada and the United States.

On October 24, Kruger hosted nearly 100 employees, dignitaries and partners to celebrate the end of a project that saw a complete rebuild of a paper machine at its Trois-Rivières, QC, facility.

Cristini, a manufacturer of carrier rope, threading systems and spiral fabrics for filtration and paper machine dryer sections, recently celebrated its 20th anniversary in business in Lachute, QC.

A large-scale pilot plant at Resolute’s Thunder Bay mill will further develop FPInnovations’ patented process to produce “2G” sugars and hydrolysis lignin (H-lignin) using mechanical refining, mild chemical treatment and enzymatic hydrolysis.

Some companies have latched on to this visualization technology to make at-the-scene maintenance more time-effective and sure. Integration with the Industrial Internet (IoT) is essential to achieve it's full value potential.

Stora Enso and BillerudKorsnäs announce plans to phase in microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) in paperboard products. Lightweight milk cartons with Stora Enso MFC are already market tested.